


Strangers Till Now

by Cim0rene



Series: Wheel of the Year [2]
Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: F/M, Yule
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:42:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27485962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cim0rene/pseuds/Cim0rene
Summary: In which Jareth repays a debt, chaos (inevitably)  ensues and Sarah just really wants to eat her Thai food.
Relationships: Jareth/Sarah Williams
Series: Wheel of the Year [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2008537
Comments: 27
Kudos: 78





	1. Chapter 1

It had been a long day.

This of course was ironic because it was, in fact, the shortest day of the year, but nevertheless, it had been a long, long day and Sarah Williams was incredibly grumpy. Granted, she had been grumpy for a good portion of the week, so this was nothing new. There had been crowded buses going to work, mandatory overtime at work, and broken-down buses coming home from work. There had been missed deadlines and very important information that was so important it had not been told to anyone and computer crashes and multiple vows that she was just going to quit and go be a goat herder in the mountains. Goats were nice and dependable and never gave you grief about missing deadlines, of that she was certain.

Yes, goat herding was sounding more and more like a quality career plan, but first there would be a long bath and a slightly obscene amount of Thai food, and then she would start researching available mountain top goat farms. That was the plan she had in mind when she turned the key to her apartment after carrying her obscene amount of Thai food up three flights of stairs because of course the elevator was broken. That was the plan and only one thing could get in her way, and regretfully for her Thai food dreams that thing was standing in her studio apartment kitchen poking at the microwave and as quickly as she walked through her door she spun on her heels and walked out.

With a pop and a poof of glitter, he was standing before her in all his splendor. There was no armor, this time it was a long coat of velvet brocade and some deep part of her subconscious (that part she was still ignoring) just wanted to be wrapped up in it and forget all her troubles. That rational part of her brain was much more practical and much less fun.

“What the hell are you doing here?” She yelled, but in a whisper. “And how the hell did you get into my apartment and please tell me you haven’t broken my microwave.”

He crossed his arms petulantly, “Really Sarah, your diplomatic sensibilities are quite out of practice.”

“My what? My apartment is not the Underground Embassy for Wayward Magical Monarchs! And you still haven’t answered my questions, why are you here?”

“It’s Yule,” he replied, and Sarah had the distinct feeling that this was supposed to explain everything.

“What? Ugh, you know what, no, get back in the apartment. I do not want to explain you to Mrs. Watson across the hall about,” she gestured up, down and around with her hands, “what you… who you… you, I just don’t want to explain you.”

Mrs. Watson was suspicious by nature and the queer girl who lived across the hall was most suspicious. Mrs. Watson had not believed Sarah when she insisted she spent many quiet nights at home. Mrs. Watson had not believed Sarah when she had insisted the noise had just been from the T.V. and most definitely not a rather heated game of Scrabble. Mrs. Watson had not believed Sarah when she had sworn she had nothing to do with the half-rotten carved turnips that had shown up in their shared hallway the day after Halloween. Luckily Mrs. Watson had not come across the one with the dentures before Sarah finished bagging them up in trash bags. No, Mrs. Watson believed Sarah Williams was up to something.

Sarah turned on her heels and walked back into her apartment and a rather amused and confused Goblin King followed in her wake. Sarah removed her coat, stooped to pick up her bag of Thai food, and set to unpacking it in the kitchen. Though first she stopped to examine the microwave and breathed a sigh of relief that it appeared to be in working order.

“So Yule,” she began while realizing that she might have ordered the entire appetizer menu. “That’s kind of like Christmas right? I didn’t think you would celebrate Christmas.”

The Goblin King leaned against the partition separating the kitchen from the living room, hands in the pockets of the brocade coat. 

“We don’t, but we do celebrate Yule. It’s the winter solstice, the longest night of the year and much like your winter holidays, we have our celebrations - grand galas and celebrations filled with wonders to last the long night. Glorious feasts overflowing with the most sumptuous delicacies crafted for every proclivity and palette.”

Sarah narrowed her eyes, “At some point, you definitely stopped talking about food and I’m not sure I want to know when.”

He smiled knowingly and winked in response. Sarah focused on undoing the knot of her plastic bag and not decidedly not on the warm flush she felt on her cheeks. “Then why are you here and not out at some of those grand galas and celebrations? Because this and a couple of “holiday special” beers ” is about as wonder-filled as this apartment is going to get tonight. So again, Goblin King, why are you here?” 

He examined his hands and shrugged with a perfected, practiced airy of apathy and nonchalance. “I simply wished to repay the gift which you so graciously shared with me on Samhain. A gift for a gift.”

She stopped unpacking the Styrofoam containers and decorated paper boxes and looked at him through wary eyes. “What kind of gift?”

He waved his hand as if to shoo away her doubts, “Oh nothing of that type. You showed me a wonder of my kingdom I did not know about; I wish to repay that favor.”

“How?”

He pushed himself away from the wall and held out his hand, “That would ruin the surprise. Could I, perhaps, ask for a measure of trust?”

Sarah folded her arms and took a step back, “Trust? We’re practically strangers to your majesty and, well, you don’t have the best track record with trustworthiness what with the peaches and the bogs and the dreams and the cleaners.”

He looked unaffected by her jab, “When a person runs the Labyrinth I have certain expectations to live up to, nothing more. It is my job to make things difficult, but,” he sighed, “I suppose I can see how that would make one a little less disposed to trust.”

“A little?”

“I’m generous. Sarah, you’ve shown me what you are capable of in my kingdom. Do you think I would spirit you away to complete some devious scheme knowing full well that you could incite an uprising of my idiot subjects with just a flutter of your beautiful eyes? In fact, I’m probably teetering close to goblin revolution just by bringing you into the Underground again, the candy corn has done much to sway my subjects in your favor.”

Sarah considered for a moment, “So if I trust you and you screw up, I can lead a glorious goblin rebellion against you?”

He extended his hand again, “You can tear the whole place down.”

She put her hand in his with a mischievous smile of her own, “Deal.”


	2. Chapter 2

Traveling by magic is not something a person, a normal person (the type who has a job, pays taxes and an opinion about things like coffee creamer and bagel toppings), is not meant to experience and Sarah quickly realized that her stomach was quick to disagree about the combination of things like coffee creamer, bagel toppings, and magic. She wobbled from foot to foot as the effect of magical transportation began to fade.

“Ugh, Goblin King, next time can we please travel by mirror?” Sarah tried not to concern herself with the fact that there currently appear to be two Goblin Kings looking at her with matching confused expressions. The twin images raised a slanted brow and with a flick of their fingers held out a clear crystal in front of her. Confused, Sarah tried to move away, but before she could move far the bauble gave a faint shimmer and pops, dusting her nose with a light coating of glitter as the dual monarchy pulled together into a single person once again.

“My apologies, I think your previous declarations may affect how my magic works around you,” he admitted as he extended an arm to her. “Perhaps you wish to renegotiate the terms of your victory?”

Sarah laughed as she took the proffered arm, “Keep dreaming your majesty.”

As she did she could see her tufted mittens once more on her hands and realized that her winter hat, the bright pink one with the rather ridiculously sized puff on top, was back on her head and suddenly felt rather foolishly attired in her secondhand stretched out peacoat next to him in his velvet brocade and impeccable tailoring. Sarah took a deep breath; it wouldn’t do to start feeling insecure around him now so she moved her attention to their new surroundings.

It was the enchanted forest, she was certain of it, the same she had gotten lost in. The one that had glittered in the dim light and hummed with noises she could never quite place, sounds that had both thrilled and frightened her as she had stumbled over its roots and around its branches so many years ago. That forest had been beautiful in the same way of the fairies that flitted around the Labyrinth walls, entrancing, but dangerous. The trees were bare and a cold breeze caressed her cheek. During her previous journey, the forest had been dense and perpetually warm and humid, the ground had been soft and moist while vines and glittering moss hung from every branch and clung to every surface. This forest was hard and cold, there was no snow on the ground, but the air felt like the threat of it hung around every corner. She looked closely at the foliage around her noticing that everything was coated in a fine layer of ice that caught the light and threw dancing lights across every surface.

“Well come on then. Time is short.” His voice broke her out of her trance and only then did she realize that her cheeks had begun to hurt from her smiles.

“Are we going somewhere else?”

He looked at her quizzically, “Of course, do you think I brought you here to stand in the mud in the middle of the forest. This is hardly an awe-inspiring location.” He waved his hands as if to dismiss the entire forest from his presence as he turned away.

“I wouldn’t say that.” Sarah’s words stopped him in his tracks. 

He scoffed a bit, “It's dirty, dark, and dismal, much the same as any other corner of this place.

"Is that really how you see it?"

"It is what it is."

“I don't think so at all. It’s entrancing and ancient and mysterious and beautiful and you couldn't change my mind if you tried. Most forests where I live are relatively new and landscaped. They look like unhappy children stuffed into ill-fitting dress clothes and told to behave. This is the type of place where even the trees have adventures to tell.” She put out a hand appreciatively on a gnarled burl on the nearest branch and she could have sworn the tree creaked appreciatively. She looked up to see that the Goblin King had turned back to her, brocade coat swaying slightly in the wind. He should have looked out of place, all leather and velvet, and sophistication, but he was just as wild as the trees around him - though she wouldn’t be the one to tell him. He was looking at her with an unreadable expression and not knowing how to proceed Sarah just shrugged and continued walking. "Plus, someone once told me not everything is as it seems in the Labyrinth."

Behind her, she couldn’t see Jareth take in a deep breath as he watched the forest seem to breathe and swell from her kind words. He could swear the tall lean spires stretched a little taller, and a few bent, dangerous specimens seemed to recommit to looking as nefarious as possible as he turned to catch up with her.

“So where exactly are we going if this isn’t an evening hike in the forest?”

“Just over the ridge actually. I would have transported us directly there, but I feel like the reveal is not a thing to be missed. In fact,” he stopped, hopping a bit to stand in front of her, “Sarah, would you close your eyes and allow me to guide you the last few steps?”

She considered for a moment and then closed her eyes. Eyelashes fluttered to spy on her guide, her mind a mixture of distrust and a childlike excitement akin to presents on Christmas morning.

“Tut,” he said with a laugh as she felt soft leather across her eyes as he placed one gloved hand over her eyes and another gripped her hand and pulled her to walk a few more steps, up the few feet of the hill.

“Just remember Goblin King, the glorious goblin revolution rests in your ability to behave for a few minutes,” Sarah joked as her feet stepped carefully in front of her. 

She could feel him lean in close and involuntarily breathed in the scent of cool clear air, warm leather, and something else sharp and rich that moved with him.

“Well restraint has never been my strong suit my dear, but fortunately for my kingdom, we are here. Open your eyes,” he said as the gloved hand dropped from her face, and Sarah, with a gasp, took in the scene in front of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading so far! Next chapter will bring amazing sites and complete chaos and maybe a little fluff to round it out!


	3. Chapter 3

Below them stretched a small valley carved out of the forest, a great stretch of rocky terrain barren of any of the glistening trees of the forest and pockmarked with fissures and pools where geysers should have been bubbling and spouting. Instead, the valley was covered in spires of ice where the sprays of water had frozen mid-air. Some glistened like frozen stalagmites along the ground while others fanned out with sprays frozen in place as they began to fall back to the earth and in the center was a mountain of ice, rising like a palace from the ground.

“Where are we?” Sarah asked, not taking her eyes off of the glistening world around her.

“These are the Fiery Falls, a hot spring usually crawling with those discombobulated deviants. However, once a year they migrate away from the forest and the springs, and with their departure cold sets in and does this for a single night before the Saumenkar make their nests for the winter.”

“It’s amazing.”

“It’s definitely an improvement on what it normally is. Most of the year one can’t get close to the spring for all the feathers and hair and limbs and debauchery littering the place.”

Sarah smiled slyly, “Actually I’m surprised you don’t spend all your time in the Debauchery Cove. It sounds right up your alley if I’m remembering a certain ballroom correctly.”

“I am pleased to say that I have standards and taste, which I would hope you would recall.”

“Ah yes, that pillow pit was the epitome of taste and standards.”

“Trends come and go,” he dismissed quickly, “but that is not what we’re here to discuss.” Sarah felt his hand under her chin as he guided her face toward the sky. “Look up… right… now.”

As he spoke the sun reached the horizon and flared for a moment over the valley and swept over the crystalline sculptures below. It was as if a wave of light washed along the shores and as the light hit each spire the ice caught and threw back the light into the sky. All around them an aurora of pinks and greens and purples danced into the darkening sky, refracting and reflecting across the frozen garden until the valley swam with dancing lights, climbing higher and higher into the sky. Around the large central spire in the center, the light caught and seemed to dance up the ice castle’s walls as the sun set behind it and the entire structure seemed to glow from within.

“Jareth?” Sarah whispered, unsure of how long she had stood there enraptured by the scene.

“Yes, my dear?”

“This is better than Thai food.”

He laughed softly, “I will trust that is a compliment.”

“One of the highest compliments.”

He was standing just behind her now, she could feel the solid warmth of him at her back as the temperature began to drop when she had an idea. Sarah spun on her heels, grabbing the front of his brocade jacket in her hands.

“Poof us down there.”

She seemed to have caught him unaware, as blinked rapidly looking down at her hands on his coat before focusing on her face. “Pardon?”

“Poof us down into the valley. It must be amazing to see the lights from below.”

He considered a moment, chewing on his lower lip slightly as he considered while Sarah ignored the butterflies that flared up in her stomach when he did that. “Alright, but Sarah stay close by, we must leave as soon as the sun sets.”

She nodded and in a flash, they were gone.

When she felt solid ground under her feet again she leaned into the soft fabric in front of her as the dizziness wore off. Tentatively she opened her eyes and smiled as she took in the frozen world around her. He had transported them near the large central spire, and the light it cast swirled around them, dancing around them as twisted above their heads into the sky. Sarah broke from his side, unable to resist putting a hand out to touch the ice walls, letting the cold seep through her gloves as she trailed her hand along its smooth, glistening surfaces. She traced the ripples and currents of the frozen water with fingertips, enjoying the sensation as her fingers began to tingle from the cold.

The lights were positively mesmerizing as they capered about as if the delicate auroras were living things and she couldn’t help but follow the streams and jets as they swirled around her.

In hindsight, Jareth would later realize that he should have never let her out of his sight even for a moment. He would curse himself for getting wrapped up in the moment, lost in thought about how the joy in her face made him forget that he was cold, and had been cold for a long time. He would berate himself for memorizing the way the glow from the ice spires lit up her eyes and the way the colored auroras shone on her hair. Because if he hadn’t been thinking about warm smiles and shining eyes he would have realized that the sun had set.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Underestimating Sarah Ability to Find Chaos since 1986.


	4. Chapter 4

Sarah heard the footsteps behind her and thought nothing of it. They walked as she walked, stopped when she walked. Ice and snow crunched under their feet, popping and cracking here and there as Sarah was reminded of the satisfying joy of cracking thin sheets of ice on puddles after a freeze and it was then, with a smile on her face and wanting to share the memory in her mind that she turned around.

It definitely was not the Goblin King strutting softly behind her in his brocades and leather, in fact, the little creature that stood behind her in the growing twilight was almost completely naked, it’s mottled blue body shining faintly in the fading auroras. It stood about knee-high to her and looked up with large black eyes that took up half its wide face, and shone faintly iridescent in the light. Long, wiry limbs stuck out from a squat, round belly; its arms ending in long fingers that nearly touched the ground. Broad flat feet ended in pointy talons which it flexed every so often as it stared up at her blinking one too many sets of eyelids.

The creature waddled awkwardly closer to her and she bent down to meet it.

“Hello, there,” she said, rubbing her hands together for warmth. “Aren’t you a little cold?”

One set of eyelids blinked and then another as it examined her gloved hands.

“Oh, these are my mittens. To keep my hands warm.” The creature reached out a long finger toward her hand, touching it ever of slightly. At once the cold seemed to melt away from the tips of her fingers and a comfortable warmth began to spread up her arm.

“Are you doing that,” she asked. “What a clever little thing you are.”

The warmth grew up her arm and then down into her belly, filling her with the warmth of a hot cup of tea and a thick pair of socks on a cold winter day. She smiled and closed her eyes, reveling in the sensation. She let her imagination drift away imagining all sorts of warm thoughts.

She thought of warm pots of soup bubbling on the stove.

She thought of thermoses of coffee on long walks in the snow.

She thought of nights in by the fireplace, nestled in close to one another while they watched the logs crackle and pop.

She thought of languid kisses and cool bodies under thick blankets, of ungloved hands tracing along …

And that is when the sensible part of Sarah’s brain woke up.

Sarah blinked, unsure of how long she had crouched there lost in her very unsensible thoughts, which she, Sarah Williams, most certainly did not have. Ever.

She flexed her fingers which, though warm were stiff to move as she looked at the little creature in front of her. It shifted its head ever so slightly as the fading light caught its big, round eyes and they shined in the darkness like light caught on an oil slick and all around her dozens of large, black eyes caught the light too.

She felt her stomach drop.

“Oh, you brought some friends,” she said carefully as she began to stand on cracking and stiff knees. Then a smile cracked along the things wide mouth, surprisingly and vividly red as it chattered in little clicks and chirps. The other creatures responded in kind, a wave of thin red smiles followed. “It was very nice to meet you, but I’m afraid I have to go.” 

The chattering stopped as all at once the thing red smiles pulled back to reveal glistening white, pointed teeth and Sarah ran.

“Jareth!” She yelled as slid around ice pillars, slipping and sliding as she tried to retrace her steps. “Jareth!”

Sarah’s screams ricocheted off the valley walls as the sensible side of Jareth’s brain scolded him soundly for forgetting basic things like “Stay with your buddy”, “Get out of the valley before sundown” and “Remember the Three Date Rule when it came to putting your date in life-threatening situations”. And as usual, Jareth told the sensible side of his brain to stuff it.

Try as he might he could not trace her voice, the valley and the frozen geysers playing tricks on the sound.

He ran in one direction, certain of her location, calling her name only to have her response come from behind him. Turning around he thought he saw her running the other direction, but her voice coming yet again from another angle. He spun, uselessly in a circle, until finally, the sensible side of his brain broke free once more and with a running start, a well-timed leaped and thorough cursing of the Three Date Rule he soared into the sky, aloft on downy white wings, black, wide eyes scanning the valley below.

Luckily, chaos has a way of drawing one's eye rather effectively and it did not take him long to spot her form running through the maze of ice spires, a wave of little mottled blue bodies gaining behind her. With a swoop and a dive that made the sensible side of his brain roll its eyes at the showmanship the Goblin King dove down to the ground, aiming for the space between Sarah and the swell of Saumenkar behind her.

It really was an excellent plan, in everything except its execution.

Sarah watched as a streak of familiar white caught the corner of her eye as she skidded around another corner. She watched as it executed a rather showy nosedive to the space between her and the hungry little beasties behind her. Sarah was certain it had been an excellent plan until it wasn’t. The little white owl shot like an arrow to the ground behind her and for a moment she saw the space around it shift and waver and then it dropped, a pile of snowy white feathers, in a heap on the ground, victim to a well-timed and well-aimed chunk of ice thrown by long clawed fingers.

The sensible side of Sarah’s brain was fairly certain there was a Three Date Rule that applied to saving the lives of one's gentleman callers from life-threatening situations as Sarah, without a thought, but with a rather impressive barbarian rage of a scream, huddled towards the stunned mass of feathers on the ground. The battle cry the erupted from her stunned the creatures behind her just enough to scooped the dazed feathery monarch into her arms and take off running again.

And run she did. She ran this way and that, around pillars and frozen fountains, sliding and skidding until her arms and legs no longer felt the frozen impact against the walls. She ran until saw the valley wall and launched herself up, one hand cradling the Goblin King and the other gripping at dirt and rocks as she tried to climb up the wall.

“Damn it, Goblin King wake up,” she yelled as the blue bodies began to nip at the soles of her shoes, wide mouths of shining teeth chattering in excitement.

Kicking and pushing with all her might, the sensible side of her brain effectively shell shocked by the chaos around her she gave one last desperate thought that broke through her brain and into her mouth before she realized it, “I wish we were back in my apartment!”

With a crack and a roll and a poof, they were free. Sarah felt that sickening falling feeling once more before she landed with an “oof” and a “thud” on something surprisingly soft. The soft thing she was currently straddling turned out to be a disoriented, but no longer avian, Goblin King sprawled on his back in the middle of the hallway in front of her apartment. 

In a moment of utter stupidity, she flung her arms around him, “You're alive!”

He opened his mismatched eyes and looked up at her with a smile, “Well, Sarah, what a pleasant surprise.”

Her face went blank for a moment as she came to her senses and then a fist came down with a resounding “whack” on his chest, one after the other, “What. The. Flipping. Heck. Was. That!?” 

He caught her hands, circling gloved fingers around her wrists, “Those were Saumenkar.”

“What?” She struggled, trying to pull her hands away.

“I think you would call them Yeti.”

“Those were Yeti! Yeti are big and furry and -”

“Ahem.” A small cough came from the doorway across the hallway where stood Mrs. Watson, dressed in a bathrobe, house slippers, and a thoroughly disapproving look at the shenanigans occurring in her very respectable hallway. “Is there a problem Mrs. Williams?”

Sarah took a moment to take stock of the situation. She was filthy, covered in dirt with sticks and leaves falling from her hair. One sleeve of her coat had ripped along the shoulder seam. She sat on top of Jareth, his hands gripped around her as he lay splayed in his brocade coat a large grin plastered across her face to match her incredulous open mouth gape.

“No. Um, no we just … um… fell?” Sarah stuttered.

“You fell?” The old woman crooked an eyebrow in a way that distinctly expressed that in her day respectable boys and girls did not go falling in hallways all willy-nilly.

“Yes… but we… um… got better?” The sensible side of her brain covered her face in shame.

“Oh hello, Mrs. Watson,” came a voice from underneath her - why was he still underneath her? She looked down to see Jareth leaning his head back toward the elderly woman. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Sarah has told me so much about you.”

“Indeed.” Mrs. Watson stepped back, as if frivolity might be catching, and closed the door without another word.

Jareth looked back at Sarah and with a wink, “Lovely lady, I think we’ll get along swimmingly. Now, where were we?”

She sprang up off him and bolted through her front door. Jareth on the other hand took his time extricating himself from the floor, taking a moment to brush down his jacket and smooth down his hair. He gave a glance to Mrs. Watson's door, “Have a lovely evening ma’am,” and was rewarded with the distinctive sound of a deadbolt being locked as he followed Sarah into her apartment.

Inside he was met with a rather deadly looking hairbrush in his face. In the few moments, he had spent in the hall Sarah had divested herself of her coat, which lay in (more or less) one piece on the floor and had retrieved the deadly hairbrush and was currently brandishing it threateningly in front of her while she bit down on a skewer of chicken.

“What on earth were you thinking? Were you even thinking at all?” Sarah exclaimed, jabbing the hairbrush into his chest. “You took me to see deadly, dangerous Abominable Snowmen!”

“I took you to see pretty lights and ice sculptures.”

“Pretty lights and ice sculptures and yeti, Jareth!”

He rolled his eyes as the hairbrush pummeled him once more, “They were not part of the plan.”

“They,” she emphasized with another bite of the chicken skewer, “tried to eat me!”

He knit his eyebrows together, frustrated that she would let such a little thing as life-threatening danger cloud the rest of a perfectly respectable evening. Sarah, in response, shoved the hairbrush into his hands.

“Ugh, don’t go all sullen and pouty on me. Here, go sit on the couch. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“What are you doing?”

She called back over her shoulder as she went into the kitchen, “Saving this evening before you start turning my apartment upside down. Now do sit.”

He did as was told, still a bit put out, but more confused as to the role of the hairbrush in salvaging the evening. 

She returned in a few moments carrying a plastic bag full of boxes and two cold bottles of beer.

“What’s this?”

She plopped down in front of him, setting the beers down and starting to open the little boxes, which as it turned out were filled with food that smelled quite delicious.

“Saving a bad day the best way I know how - beer and Thai Food.”

She handed him a cardboard container and a fork and after a few tentative bites they sat for a while in silence eat from the little containers. After eating her fill she picked up the hairbrush and began to tackle her hair once again, attacking knots and picking out bits of leaves.

Silently, he took the brush from her hands and motioned for her to slide back towards him. She would later blame the satiating properties of Thai Food for this obvious lack in judgment, but for now, even the sensible side of her brain was mollified as he ran the brush and his long fingers through her hair, slowly working through all the knots and brambles as she let her head rest on his knee.

“I’m sorry,” his voice cut through the silence as his fingers scraped gently along her scalp and down the length of her hair. “I did not mean for the evening to be so … eventful.”

She let out a sleepy little laugh, “I probably should have known better than to expect a trip back Underground to be uneventful and it wasn’t all bad.”

“It wasn’t?”

“No, up until the “imminent death part”, it was well… nice. Though next time, I think we could aim for slightly less deadly and slightly more nice.”

“Next time?”

She felt him freeze at the words, and for a moment she felt a little foolish, “Well, sure, if you’d like that is,” she tried to shrug off the seriousness that hung in the air, “well, I suppose you kind of owe me one after the other “Surprise Yeti Trying to Eat Me” thing.”

“I suppose I do, and well, fae are bound to their contracts. Do you perhaps have something in mind?”

She paused for a moment then turned with a mischievous grin on her face, “How about a glorious Goblin Revolution?”

His face fell and she burst into laughter. “No? Well how about this instead,” she said leaning her head against his leg, “Have you ever been to a New Year's Eve party?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saumen Kar is the name for a Yeti like creature in the Arctic! ::que the "More you know Rainbow"::
> 
> Oh, Mrs. Watson... you're in for a wild ride.
> 
> Thanks for reading! If you liked this please drop a kudos or a comment or both or just send Thai Food and good beer to the following address....
> 
> P.S. A speedpainting of the ice spires is on Instagram (search amazing_mistake_art)

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the Wheel of the Year, what I'm hoping will be a series of fluffy, romantic episodes following the course of a year with these two. Instead of following the American holidays, they will occur on or around the major feasts of the Wheel of the Years (Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lughnasadh, and Mabon) and each have their own adventure and theme as this relationship grows. Thanks for coming back to read!


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